Radio network node, a controlling radio network node, and methods therein for enabling management of radio resources in a radio communications network

ABSTRACT

Embodiments herein relate to a method in a radio network node ( 12 ) for enabling management of radio resources in a radio communications network, which radio network node ( 12 ) serves a first cell ( 11 ). The radio network node measures a received total power value at the radio network node ( 12 ) in the first cell ( 11 ). The radio network node ( 12 ) computes a factor indicating a load in the first cell ( 11 ). The radio network node ( 12 ) estimates a noise floor level in the first cell ( 11 ). The radio network node ( 12 ) computes a utilization probability value of the load in the first cell ( 11 ) and a neighbor cell interference value simultaneously in a non-linear interference model. This is based on the measured received total power value, the computed factor, and the estimated noise floor level in the first cell ( 11 ), which neighbor cell interference value is an interference from at least one second cell ( 14 ) affecting said first cell ( 11 ), and where at least one of the utilization probability value of the load in the first cell ( 11 ) and the neighbor cell interference value is to be used for managing radio resources in the radio communications network.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate to a radio network node, a controlling radionetwork node, and methods therein. In particular, embodiments hereinrelate to management of radio resources in a radio communicationsnetwork.

BACKGROUND

In today's radio communications networks a number of differenttechnologies are used, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced,Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobilecommunications/Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible technologies. A radiocommunications network comprises radio base stations providing radiocoverage over at least one respective geographical area forming a cell.User equipments (UE) are served in the cells by the respective radiobase station and are communicating with respective radio base station.The user equipments transmit data over an air interface to the radiobase stations in uplink (UL) transmissions and the radio base stationstransmit data to the user equipments in downlink (DL) transmissions.

Recently two main trends have emerged in the cellular telephonybusiness. First mobile broadband traffic is more or less exploding inthe e.g. WCDMA networks. The technical consequence is a correspondingsteep increase of the interference in these networks, or equivalently, asteep increase of the load. This makes it important to exploit the loadheadroom that is left in the most efficient way. Secondly, radiocommunications networks are becoming more heterogeneous, with macroradio base stations being supported by micro radio base stations attraffic hot spots. Furthermore, WCDMA home base stations, also calledfemto radio base stations, are emerging in many networks. This trendclearly puts increasing demands on inter-cell interference management.

Below it is described the measurement and estimation techniques, neededto measure the instantaneous total load, also referred to as thereceived total power value, on the uplink air interface. It is e.g.shown in prior art that the load at the antenna connector is given bythe noise rise, or rise over thermal, RoT(t), defined by

$\begin{matrix}{{{{RoT}(t)} = \frac{P_{RTWP}(t)}{P_{N}(t)}},} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 1} \right)\end{matrix}$where P_(N)(t) is the thermal noise level as measured at the antennaconnector, also referred to as noise floor level and where P_(RTWP)(t)is the total power value. This relative measure is unaffected of anyde-spreading applied. The definition used for the total power value usedhere is simply the received total power value called received totalwideband power

$\begin{matrix}{{{P_{RTWP}(t)} = {{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{K}\;{P_{k}(t)}} + {P_{neighbor}(t)} + {P_{N}(t)}}},} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 2} \right)\end{matrix}$also measured at the antenna connector. Here P_(k)(t) is the power fromthe load in the own cell and P_(neighbor)(t) denotes the power asreceived from neighbour cells of the WCDMA system referred to herein asneighbour cell interference value. As will be seen below, a majordifficulty of any RoT estimation algorithm is to separate the noisefloor level P_(N)(t) from the neighbour cell interference valueP_(neighbor)(t).

Another specific problem that needs to be addressed is that the signalreference points are, by definition at the antenna connectors. Themeasurements are however obtained after the analogue signal conditioningchain, in the digital receiver. The analogue signal conditioning chaindoes introduce a scale factor error, γ(t), of about 1 dB that isdifficult to compensate for. Fortunately, all powers of (eq. 2) areequally affected by the scale factor error γ(t) so when (eq. 1) iscalculated, the scale factor error γ(t) is cancelled as

$\begin{matrix}{{{RoT}^{{Digital}\mspace{11mu}{Receiver}}(t)} = {\frac{P_{RTWP}^{{Digital}\mspace{11mu}{Receiver}}(t)}{P_{N}^{{Digital}\mspace{11mu}{Receiver}}(t)} = {\frac{{\gamma(t)}{P_{RTWP}^{Antenna}(t)}}{{\gamma(t)}{P_{N}^{Antenna}(t)}} = {{{RoT}^{Antenna}(t)}.}}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 3} \right)\end{matrix}$In order to understand the fundamental problem of the neighbour cellinterference value when performing load estimation, note thatP _(neighbor)(t)+P _(N)(t)=E└P _(neighbor)(t)┘+E[P _(N)(t)]+ΔP_(neighbor)(t)+ΔP _(N)(t),  eq. 4)where E[ ] denotes mathematical expectation and where Δ denotes thevariation around the mean. Since there are no measurements available inthe radio base station that are related to the neighbour cellinterference value, a linear filtering operation can at best estimatethe sum E└P_(neighbor)(t)┘+E[P_(N)(t)]. This estimate cannot be used todeduce the value of E[P_(N)(t)]. The situation is the same as when thesum of two numbers is available. Then there is no way to figure out thevalues of the individual numbers.

In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) release 99, also called3G systems, the Radio Network Controller (RNC) controls resources anduser mobility. Resource control in this framework means admissioncontrol, congestion control, channel switching, and/or roughly changingthe data rate of a connection. Furthermore, a dedicated connection iscarried over a Dedicated Channel (DCH), which is realized as a DedicatedPhysical Control Channel (DPCCH) and a Dedicated Physical Data Channel(DPDCH). In the evolved third generation (3G) standards, the trend is todecentralize decision making, and in particular the control over theshort term data rate of the user connection. The uplink data is thenallocated to an Enhanced-DCH (E-DCH), which is realized as the triplet:a DPCCH, which is continuous, an E-DCH (E)-DPCCH for data control and anE-DCH (E)-DPDCH for data. The two latter are only transmitted when thereis uplink data to send. Hence the uplink scheduler of the radio basestation determines which transport formats each user can use overE-DPDCH. The RNC is however still responsible for admission control, theonly way to control R99 traffic. Today the scheduling and admissioncontrol in the radio communications network are not performing in anoptimal manner resulting in a reduced performance of the radiocommunications network. For scheduling in the radio base station, thereis no available low complexity neighbour cell interference estimationtechnology. The available technology requires measurement and subsequentoptimal filtering of all user equipment powers in the UL. That is verycostly computationally, and requires Kalman filters of high order forprocessing the measurements to obtain estimates of the neighbour cellinterference value. The consequence is that the scheduler is unaware ofthe origin of the interference, thereby making it more difficult toarrive at good scheduling decisions. For managing heterogeneous networks(HetNets), which is a network composed of multiple radio accesstechnologies, architectures, transmission solutions, and radio basestations of varying transmission power, the problem is again that thereis no information of the origin of interference, and interferencevariance, for adjacent cells. This is also caused by the lack of lowcomplexity estimators for these quantities.

SUMMARY

It is an object of embodiments herein to manage radio resources in animproved efficient manner enhancing the performance of the radiocommunications network.

According to an aspect the object is achieved by a method in a radionetwork node for enabling management of radio resources in a radiocommunications network. The radio network node serves a first cell. Theradio network node measures a received total power value at the radionetwork node in the first cell. The radio network node computes a factorindicating a load in the first cell. The radio network node estimates anoise floor level in the first cell. The radio network node furthercomputes a utilization probability value of the load in the first celland a neighbour cell interference value simultaneously in a non-linearinterference model, based on the measured received total power value,the computed factor, and the estimated noise floor level in the firstcell. The neighbour cell interference value is an interference from atleast one second cell affecting said first cell. At least one of theutilization probability value of the load in the first cell and theneighbour cell interference value is to be used for managing radioresources in the radio communications network.

According to another aspect the object is achieved by providing a radionetwork node for enabling management of radio resources in a radiocommunications network. The radio network node is configured to serve afirst cell. The radio network node comprises a measuring circuitconfigured to measure a received total power value at the radio networknode in the first cell. The radio network node further comprises a firstcomputing circuit configured to compute a factor indicating a load inthe first cell. In addition, the radio network node comprises anestimating circuit configured to estimate a noise floor level in thefirst cell. The radio network node further comprises a second computingcircuit configured to compute a utilization probability value of theload in the first cell and a neighbour cell interference valuesimultaneously in a non-linear interference model. The computation isbased on the measured received total power value, the computed factor,and the estimated noise floor level in the first cell. The neighbourcell interference value is an interference from at least one second cellaffecting said first cell. At least one of the utilization probabilityvalue of the load in the first cell 11 and the neighbour cellinterference value is to be used for managing radio resources in theradio communications network.

According to still another aspect the object is achieved by a method ina controlling radio network node for managing radio resources in a radiocommunications network. The controlling radio network node controls asecond cell. The controlling radio network node receives, from a radionetwork node, at least one of a utilization probability value of a loadin a first cell served by the radio network node and a neighbour cellinterference value. The neighbour cell interference value is aninterference from at least the second cell affecting the first cell. Theneighbour cell interference value and the utilization probability valueare based on a measured received total power value, a computed factorindicating the load in the first cell, and an estimated noise floorlevel in the first cell, computed in a non-linear interference model.The controlling radio network node uses at least one of the utilizationprobability value of the load in the first cell and the neighbour cellinterference value, when managing radio resources within the radiocommunications network.

According to yet another aspect the object is achieved by providing acontrolling radio network node for managing radio resources in a radiocommunications network. The controlling radio network node is configuredto control a second cell. The controlling radio network node comprises areceiving circuit configured to receive, from a radio network node, atleast one of a utilization probability value of a load in a first cellserved by the radio network node and a neighbour cell interferencevalue. The neighbour cell interference value is an interference from atleast the second cell affecting the first cell. The neighbour cellinterference value and the utilization probability value are based on ameasured received total power value, a computed factor indicating theload in the first cell, and an estimated noise floor level in the firstcell, computed in a non-linear interference model. The controlling radionetwork node further comprises a processing circuit configured to use atleast one of the utilization probability value of the load in the firstcell and the neighbour cell interference value, when managing radioresources within the radio communications network.

By using at least one of the utilization probability value of the loadin the first cell and the neighbour cell interference value, accordingto embodiments herein, for managing radio resources in the radiocommunications network, the management of radio resources is based onmore accurate values efficiently derived and the performance of theradio communications network is improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to theenclosed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic overview depicting embodiments of a radiocommunications network,

FIG. 2 is a schematic combined flowchart and signalling scheme depictingembodiments in the radio communications network,

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting load estimation algorithms accordingto embodiments,

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method in a radio network nodeaccording to embodiments herein,

FIG. 5 is a block diagram depicting a radio network node according toembodiments herein,

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a method in a controlling radionetwork node according to embodiments herein, and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting a controlling radio network nodeaccording to embodiments herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic combined flowchart and signaling scheme in a radiocommunications network, such as a WCDMA network, or similar. The radiocommunications network comprises a radio network node, e.g. a firstradio base station 12, providing radio coverage over at least onegeographical area forming a cell, a first cell 11. The cell definitionmay also incorporate frequency bands used for transmissions, which meansthat two different cells may cover the same geographical area but usingdifferent frequency bands. A first user equipment 10 is served in thefirst cell 11 by the first radio base station 12 and may becommunicating with the first radio base station 12. The first userequipment 10 transmits data over an air or radio interface to the firstradio base station 12 in uplink (UL) transmissions and the first radiobase station 12 transmits data over an air or radio interface to thefirst user equipment 10 in downlink (DL) transmissions. Furthermore, theradio communications network comprises a second radio base station 13controlling a second cell 14 serving a second user equipment 15. Thesecond user equipment 15 interferes with the first radio base station 12causing a neighbour cell interference. The first radio base station 12and the second radio base station 13 are controlled by a controllingradio network node, illustrated as a Radio Network Controller (RNC) 16.The first radio base station 12 manages radio resources in the firstcell 11 e.g. by scheduling UL and DL transmissions in the first cell 11.

It should be understood that the term “user equipment” is a non-limitingterm which means any wireless terminal, device or node e.g. PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), laptop, mobile, sensor, relay, mobile tablets,a Location Services (LCS) target device in general, an LCS client in thenetwork or even a small base station.

The radio base stations, which are examples of radio network nodes, mayalso be referred to as e.g. a NodeB, an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), abase transceiver station, Access Point Base Station, base stationrouter, or any other network unit capable to communicate with a userequipment 10 within the first cell 11 depending e.g. of the radio accesstechnology and terminology used. Also, each radio base station 12,13 mayfurther serve one or more cells. Other examples of radio network nodesserving the user equipments 10,15 are relay nodes or a beacon nodes.

The radio communications network may be any cellular radio networkcomprising the controlling radio network node 16, capable ofestablishing and routing a data packet session through different networktransmission paths exploiting different routing protocols, the radiocommunications network may e.g. be a Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (TRAN) (UTRAN)-GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) network, a WCDMA network, a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) 2000 network, an Interim Standard (IS)-95network, a Digital-Advance Mobile Phone Service (D-AMPS) network etc.The term RNC should here therefore not be interpreted to strictly so asto comprise only an RNC according to the 3GPP UTRAN standard, but anynetwork control node capable of mapping a data session to differenttransmission paths through its different ports wherein the differenttransmission paths exploit different routing protocols. For instance, incase of a CDMA 2000 network, the RNC functionality described belowaccording to embodiments herein may be realised in the Base StationControllers (BSC) of the CDMA 2000 network.

An Enhanced UL (EUL) utilizes a scheduler in the first radio basestation 12 that aims at filling a load headroom of the air interface, sothat requests for bitrates of different user equipments are met. Asstated above, the air-interface load in WCDMA is determined in terms ofthe RoT, a quantity that is measured in the first radio base station 12.When evaluating scheduling decisions, the scheduler has to predict aload that results from scheduled grants, to make sure that the scheduledload does not exceed the load thresholds for coverage and stability.This is complicated since a grant given to the first user equipment 10does only express a limit on the UL power it is allowed to use, so thefirst user equipment 10 may in reality use only a portion of its grant.The scheduler in today's networks makes a worst case analysis, assumingthat all user equipments use their grants at all times. Unfortunately,it has been found that user equipments do seem to have a relatively lowutilization of grants. From measurements performed in the field theresult indicates a typical grant utilization in certain scenarios ofonly about 25%. This is evidently an unacceptable waste of air-interfaceresources. To summarize, the lack of technology for estimation of autilization probability value of the load in the first cell 11 and itsvariance leads to underutilization of the air interface, due to the factthat user equipments often do not use the power granted to them. It alsoprevents the use of systematic statistical overbooking of grants, sincea statistical model of load utilization is not available. In particular,no variance is available. The lack of technology for estimation of theutilization probability value and its variance also leads to a generalinaccuracy of a load prediction, since un-modeled receiver impairmentsare not captured by an estimated utilization probability value.

Embodiments herein provide a non-linear interference model, e.g. forWCDMA UL, responsive to a measured received total power value, a factorindicating a load in the first cell 11, the utilization probabilityvalue of the load in the first cell 11, a neighbour cell interferencevalue and a noise floor level, expressing an UL load curve relationship.At least one of the utilization probability value of the load in thefirst cell 11 and the neighbour cell interference value is to be usedfor managing radio resources in the radio communications network. Theutilization probability value and the neighbor cell interference valueare thus enabling the management of radio resources in the radiocommunications network. Some embodiments herein provide an estimator,responsive to measurements of the measured received total power valueand said non-linear interference model. The estimator provides estimatesof the utilization probability value and the neighbour cell interferencevalue simultaneously computed in the non-linear interference model. Theestimator may be characterized by its low order and associated lowcomputational complexity. In a preferred embodiment the estimator is avariant of an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), arranged for processingusing said non-linear interference model.

Thus, embodiments herein provide estimates of utilization probabilityvalues and neighbour cell interference values simultaneously computedthat may enhance the performance of the scheduler of the EUL and alsothe overall interference management performed in the RNC 16 forHeterogeneous Networks (HetNet). This may enhance the performance of theradio communications network. Furthermore, a network interferencemanagement may be simplified by providing neighbour cell interferencevalues at central nodes in a Radio Access Network (RAN) and a CoreNetwork (CN). Furthermore, embodiments herein may provide a SelfOrganization Network (SON) functionality in e.g. WCDMA networks. Suchfunctionality is heavily dependent on knowledge of the interferencesituations in different cells.

FIG. 2 is a schematic combined flowchart and signalling scheme depictingembodiments herein.

Step 201. The second user equipment 15 in the second cell 14 transmits asignal that interferes with the first radio base station 12.

Step 202. The first user equipment 10 transmits a signal to the firstradio base station 12.

Step 203. According to embodiments herein the first radio base station12 measures the received total power value P_(RTWP) at a receiver of thefirst radio base station 12, also referred to as a received total wideband power, including a noise generated in the receiver, within abandwidth defined by a receiver pulse shaping filter. A reference pointfor the measurement may be a receiver (Rx) antenna connector of thefirst radio base station 12. In case of receiver diversity, the measuredreceived total power value P_(RTWP) may be a linear average of the powerin the diversity branches. When cell portions are defined in the firstcell 11, the received total power value P_(RTWP) may be measured foreach cell portion.

Furthermore, the first radio base station 12 computes the factorindicating a load in the first cell 11, L_(own), and estimates the noisefloor level, P_(N), in the first cell 11.

Step 204. Additionally, the first radio base station 12 computes theutilization probability value p_(load) of the load in the first cell 11and the neighbour cell interference value P_(neighbour) simultaneouslyin the non-linear interference model based on the measured receivedtotal power value P_(RTWP), the computed factor L_(own), and theestimated noise floor level P_(N) in the first cell 11. The neighbourcell interference value P_(neighbour) is an interference from at leastone second cell 14 affecting said first cell 11. At least one of theutilization probability value p_(load) of the load in the first cell 11and the neighbour cell interference value P_(neighbour) is to be usedfor managing radio resources in the radio communications network. Thus,the computed utilization probability value p_(load) and the neighbourcell interference value enables managing of the radio resources eitherat the first radio base station 12 or at the RNC 16.

In some embodiments, any of the disclosed quantities in the currentcomputed values, e.g. neighbour cell interference value P_(neighbour),utilization probability value p_(load), noise floor level P_(N), etc.,and the associated reporting may be requested: by the controlling radionetwork node such as the RNC 16; from a measuring node, e.g. the secondradio base station 13, a home radio base station, a Location ManagementUnit (LMU) etc.; or from another network node e.g. a second RNC, a homeradio base station gateway (GW), etc. by e.g. including a correspondingindicator in a request, e.g. in a Common Measurement Type message. Thedisclosed reporting may additionally or alternatively be periodic orevent-triggered.

Step 205. The first radio base station 12 may schedule radio resourcesfor the first user equipment 10 based on the neighbour cell interferencevalue P_(neighbour). E.g. the computed neighbour cell interference valueP_(neighbour) or the computed utilization probability value p_(load)obtained after processing in the first radio base station 12 may be usedfor controlling or adjusting the maximum UL transmit powers of userequipments served by the first radio base station 12. The controllingmay also be implemented dynamically and may also be used for powersharing in multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) and multi-standard radiobase stations.

Step 206. The first radio base station 12 may additionally oralternatively transmit the computed utilization probability valuep_(load) and/or the neighbour cell interference value P_(neighbour) tothe RNC 16. It should be noted that the noise floor level P_(N) may alsobe transmitted to the RNC 16.

Step 207. The RNC 16 may use the computed utilization probability valuep_(load) and/or the neighbour cell interference value P_(neighbour) whenperforming admission control to the first cell 11 and/or the second cell14. Other examples are when the RNC 16 uses the computed utilizationprobability value p_(load) and/or the neighbour cell interference valueP_(neighbour) when performing interference management in heterogeneousnetworks. Interference management in heterogeneous networks may comprisecontrolling interference in at least one of the first radio base station12 and the second radio base station 13 by transmitting information suchas orders or values to the different radio base stations 12, 13.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting a load estimator structure. Switchesand dashed arrows indicate optional functionality and inputs. Thestructure processes the received total power at a present time t denotedas P_(RTWP)(t), the factor at time t denoted as L_(own)(t) or average ofa factor denoted as L _(own)(t), to produce an estimate of neighbourcell interference value at time t denoted as {circumflex over(P)}_(neighbor)(t), an estimate of noise floor level at time t denotedas {circumflex over (P)}_(N)(t), an estimate of a rise over thermalvalue at time t denoted RoT(t) and an estimate of the utilizationprobability value time t denoted as {circumflex over (x)}₁(t|t).Obviously an estimate of a power in the first cell 11, denoted as{circumflex over (P)}_(own)(t), and thus the load of the first cell 11follows e.g. as{circumflex over (P)} _(own)(t)={circumflex over (P)}_(RTWP)(t)−{circumflex over (x)} ₂(t|t).  (eq. 5)

where {circumflex over (P)}_(RTWP)(t) defines an estimate of thereceived total power at time t, and

-   -   {circumflex over (x)}₂(t|t) defines an estimate of a sum of        neighbour cell interference value and a noise floor level at        time t.

The load estimator may comprise a scaled Kalman filter block 31, arecursive noise floor estimator 32, and a variant of RoT computations33. This may be implemented in a Radio Unit (RU) of the first radio basestation 12, for 10 ms TTIs by adding signaling of the factor L_(own)(t)from the scheduler of the base band to the RU. A scaled extended Kalmanfilter 34 is comprised in the load estimator enabling signalling of theneighbour cell interference value and the utilization probability valuefrom the RU to base band. The neighbour cell interference value and theutilization probability value are based on the factor L_(own)(t) and thereceived total power value P_(RTWP). It should here be noted that aninput f^(P) ^(neighbour) ^(+P) ^(N) (x,t) to the recursive noise floorestimator 32 may be taken from the scaled extended Kalman Filter 34.This may result in better values as the minimum values are more accuratebased on the sum of the sum of the neighbour cell interference value andthe noise floor level, whereas an input f^(RTWP)(x,t) from the scaledKalman Filter block 31 is based on the received total power value. Thesum of the neighbour cell interference value and the noise floor levelis the reduced at a reduction process 35, with the estimate of the noisefloor level {circumflex over (P)}_(N) ^(recursive)(t) being subtractedfrom the recursive noise floor estimator 32. The variant of RoTcomputations 33 uses an estimate {circumflex over (P)}_(RTWP)(t) fromthe Scaled Kalman filter block 31 as input and the estimate of the noisefloor level {circumflex over (P)}_(N) ^(recursive)(t). This results in aRoT value RoT(t). The estimate of the neighbour cell interference value{circumflex over (P)}_(neighbour)(t) the estimate of the utilizationprobability value {circumflex over (x)}₁(t|t), the estimated noise floor{circumflex over (P)}_(N)(t), and the computed RoT (t) value may be usedat the radio network node 12 and/or sent to the RNC 16.

Simulations wherein the basis for the data generation is a large set ofUL power files generated in a high fidelity system simulator have beenperformed. The UL power files represent bursty traffic, with varying mixof speech and data traffic, at different load levels. These UL powerfiles are then combined in different ways to generate UL powercomponents, i.e. own cell traffic, neighbour cell traffic, noise floorlevel and the summed up receive total wide band power. The factor of theload in the first cell 11 is also computed. The user of the simulationmay e.g. select the average power levels of the components, with respectto the noise floor level, select the number of neighbours used forneighbour cell interference, the utilization probability of the firstcell 11, fix or varying between two limits; select the loop delay of thefactor, related to grant loop delay; and/or set daily load patterns, andperturb these day to day by a randomization algorithm.

Here, the tuning of the scaled extended Kalman filter 34 is discussed indetail. The simulation files do represent the currently recommendedsetting for product development; the noise floor estimation bandwidth ise.g. set to the equivalent of about 20 h. The algorithmic constraintsthat affect the load utilization probability and neighbour cellinterference estimation with the extended Kalman filter 34 is stronglyrelated to the fact that only the total received power P_(RTWP)(t) andthe factor L_(own)(t) are processed by the extended Kalman filter 34.

To see the issue consider a measurement equation

$\begin{matrix}{{c\left( {\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} \right)} = {\frac{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}}.}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 6} \right)\end{matrix}$

-   -   where {circumflex over (x)}₂(t|t−T_(TTI)) defines an estimate of        a sum of neighbour cell interference value and a noise floor at        a time between a present time t and sampling interval T_(TTI),        -   {circumflex over (x)}₁(t|t−T_(TTI)) defines an estimate of a            utilization probability value at a time between present time            t and sampling interval T_(TTI),        -   L_(own)(t−T_(D)) is the factor of the load in the first cell            11 at the present time reduced with a time delay, and        -   c({circumflex over (x)}(t|t−T_(TTI))) is a measurement            vector which is a function of an estimate of a state vector            {circumflex over (x)}(t) describing signals of the radio            communications network at a time between present time t and            present time reduced with a sampling interval T_(TTI), and            equals the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t) with error            parameters taken into account.

The extended Kalman filter 34 provides estimates such that a modeloutput from eq. 6 follows the received total power at time tP_(RTWP)(t). The estimator may adapt the estimate of the utilizationprobability value {circumflex over (x)}₁(t|t) to the correct value, sothat the load curve represented by eq. 6, together with a correctlyestimated sum of the neighbour cell interference value and noise floorlevel given by {circumflex over (x)}₂(t|t), will achieve an output closeto the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t).

Unfortunately eq. 6 opens up for a shortcut to achieve this. Without aproper tuning the extended Kalman filter 34 may solve the problem of eq.6 by letting the estimate of the utilization probability value{circumflex over (x)}₁(t|t) converge to 0, and the estimated sum of theneighbour cell interference value and noise floor level {circumflex over(x)}₂(t|t) converge to the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t).However, this solution represents a false solution to the estimationproblem. The false solution occurs when the filter is tuned withstandard reasoning as follows. The natural way to tune would be to havea very low noise covariance—since the received total power valueP_(RTWP)(t) is very accurate, systems noise is then adapted to thedesired time constants of the utilization probability value {circumflexover (x)}₁(t|t) and the estimated sum of the neighbour cell interferencevalue and noise floor level {circumflex over (x)}₂(t|t), i.e. highlevels giving high bandwidth. The extended Kalman filter 34 trusts themeasurement more than the estimates. The result is then convergence tothe false solution.

The remedy to this situation is to abandon the above tuning and go for alower bandwidth. This then requires an artificial high noise covarianceand reduced values of the systems noise. That tuning tells the filter tomodel the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t) mostly by the estimatesthemselves, a fact that avoids the false solution as seen in thesimulated results below. The current tuning sets the noise covariancevery close to the noise power floor covariance level, with the systemnoise covariance for the neighbour cell interference more than 20 dBsbelow the noise floor level. The simulation results showed that theestimation of the load utilization probability value {circumflex over(x)}₁(t|t) is not perfect. That is related to the low bandwidth tuningthat forces this estimated state to work as an instrument to achieve thefit of the model to the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t). Theneighbour cell interference value were modeled so that the estimationerror is about 5 dB below the actual neighbour cell interference value.That corresponds to an estimation inaccuracy of about 30%. This isdeemed to be significantly better than prior art approaches, inparticular since the model output is continuously aligned against themeasured the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting a method in a radio network node,exemplified above as the first radio base station 12 and hereinafterreferred to as the radio network node 12, for enabling management ofradio resources in the radio communications network. The radio networknode 12 serves the first cell 11.

Step 401. The radio network node 12 measures a received total powervalue at the radio network node 12 in the uplink frequency band. Thisstep corresponds to the step 204 in FIG. 2.

Step 402. The radio network node 12 computes a factor indicating a loadin the first cell 11. The factor is also referred to as own cell loadfactor. Embodiments herein predict the instantaneous load on the uplinkair interface ahead in time. This functionality may be needed by thescheduler of EUL. The reason is that the scheduler tests differentcombinations of grants to determine the best combinations, e.g.maximizing the throughput. This scheduling decision will only affect theair interface load after a number of transmission time intervals, eachsuch TTI being 2 or 10 ms, due to grant transmission latency and UElatency before the new grant takes effect over the air interface. Timedelay T_(D) scheduling is further discussed below.

The factor may be based on the Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR) or anyother similar ratio such as Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio(SINR). The prediction of uplink load, for a tentative scheduled set ofuser equipments and grants, is based on the power relation

$\begin{matrix}{{{{P_{RTWP}(t)} - {P_{N}(t)}} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}\;{{L_{i}(t)}{P_{RTWP}(t)}}} + {P_{neighbor}(t)}}},} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 7} \right)\end{matrix}$where L_(i)(t) is the factor of the i:th user equipment of the own cell,e.g. the first cell 11, at the present time t and where P_(neighbor)(t)denotes the neighbour cell interference value at the present time t. Thefactors of the load in the own cell are computed as follows. First it isnoted that

$\begin{matrix}{{{\left( {C/I} \right)_{i}(t)} = {\frac{P_{i}(t)}{{P_{RTWP}(t)} - {\left( {1 - \alpha} \right)P_{i}}} = {\frac{{L_{i}(t)}{P_{RTWP}(t)}}{{P_{RTWP}(t)} - {\left( {1 - \alpha} \right){L_{i}(t)}{P_{RTWP}(t)}}} = {\left. \frac{L_{i}(t)}{1 - {\left( {1 - \alpha} \right){L_{i}(t)}}}\mspace{20mu}\Leftrightarrow\mspace{20mu}{L_{i}(t)} \right. = \frac{\left( {C/I} \right)_{i}(t)}{1 + {\left( {1 - \alpha} \right)\left( {C/I} \right)_{i}(t)}}}}}},{i = 1},\ldots\mspace{14mu},I,} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 8} \right)\end{matrix}$

where I is a number of user equipments in the own cell and α is aself-interference factor. (C/I)_(i)(t) defines the carrier tointerference ratio, e.g. roughly the signal to noise ration at chipping(3.84 MHz) speed.

The (C/I)_(i)(t), i=1, . . . , I, are then related to a SINR measured onthe Dedicated Physical Control Channel (DPCCH) as follows

$\begin{matrix}{{{\left( {C/I} \right)_{i}(t)} = {\frac{{SINR}_{i}(t)}{W_{i}}\frac{RxLoss}{G}}}{10 \times \left( {1 + \frac{\begin{matrix}{{\beta_{{DPDCH},i}^{2}(t)} + {\beta_{{EDPCCH},i}^{2}(t)} +} \\{{{n_{{codes},i}(t)}{\beta_{{EDPDCH},i}^{2}(t)}} + {\beta_{{HSDPCCH},i}^{2}(t)}}\end{matrix}}{\beta_{DPCCH}^{2}(t)}} \right)}{{i = 1},\ldots\mspace{14mu},{I.}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 9} \right)\end{matrix}$where W_(i) is a spreading factor,

-   -   RxLoss represents missed receiver energy,    -   G is a diversity gain, and    -   the β:s are beta factors of the respective channels, assuming        not active channels to have zero beta factors.

The UL load prediction then computes the uplink load of the own cell bya calculation of (eq. 8) and (eq. 9) for each user equipment of the owncell, followed by a summation

$\begin{matrix}{{{L_{own}(t)} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{I}\;{L_{i}(t)}}},} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 10} \right)\end{matrix}$which transforms eq 7 toP _(RTWP)(t)=L _(own)(t)P _(RTWP)(t)+P _(neighbor)(t)+P _(N)(t)  (eq.11)A division with the noise floor level P_(N)(t) then shows that the RoTmay be predicted k TTIs ahead, where k represents integers, as

$\begin{matrix}{{{RoT}\left( {t + {kT}} \right)} = {\frac{{P_{neighbor}(t)}/{P_{N}(t)}}{1 - {L_{own}(t)}} + {\frac{1}{1 - {L_{own}(t)}}.}}} & {\left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 12} \right).}\end{matrix}$

The SIR based load factor calculation may be replaced by a power basedone, where the basic definition of the load factor

$\begin{matrix}{{{L_{i}(t)} = \frac{P_{i}(t)}{P_{RTWP}(t)}},} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 13} \right)\end{matrix}$is used, instead of eq. 8, where P_(i)(t) defines the power of the userequipment i. The advantage is that the parameter dependence is reduced.On the downside a measurement of the user power is needed.

Step 403. The radio network node 12 estimates a noise floor level. Thenoise floor level may also be referred to as thermal noise. An exampleof a noise floor level estimation is a use of a so called sliding windownoise floor level estimation algorithm. It is e.g. shown in prior artthat the load at the antenna connector is given by the noise rise, orrise over thermal, RoT(t), defined, as stated above, by

$\begin{matrix}{{{{RoT}(t)} = \frac{P_{RTWP}(t)}{P_{N}(t)}},} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 1} \right)\end{matrix}$where P_(N)(t) is the thermal noise or noise floor level as measured atthe antenna connector. This relative measure is unaffected of anyde-spreading applied. The algorithm estimates the RoT. A problem solvedby this estimation algorithm is the accurate estimation of the noisefloor level P_(N)(t). Since it is not possible to obtain exact estimatesof this quantity due to the neighbour cell interference value, theestimator therefore applies an approximation, by consideration of thesoft minimum as computed over a relative long window in time.

It should be understood that this estimation relies on the fact that thenoise floor level P_(N)(t) is constant over very long periods of time,disregarding the small temperature drift. The sliding window noise floorlevel estimation algorithm has a disadvantage of requiring a largeamount of storage memory. This becomes particularly troublesome in casea large number of instances of the algorithm is needed, as may be thecase when interference cancellation is introduced in the uplink.

To reduce the memory consumption a recursive algorithm has beendisclosed to estimate noise floor level P_(N)(t). The recursivealgorithms aggregates the information stored in the sliding window, intoone single “state” that is updated from time instance to time instance.The recursive algorithm therefore reduces the memory requirements of thesliding window noise floor level estimation algorithm scheme discussedabove at least by a factor of 100, or more precisely by a factor equalto the number of samples in the sliding window.

Thus, the estimation of the noise floor level may be based on themeasured received total power value and the factor of the load in thefirst cell 11, a recursive algorithm, or a sliding window algorithm.

Step 404. The radio network node 12 computes a utilization probabilityvalue of the load in the first cell 11 and simultaneously computes aneighbour cell interference value in the first cell 11, which neighbourcell interference value is from at least one second cell 14. Thecomputation of the utilization probability value and the neighbour cellinterference value is based on the measured received total power value,the computed factor indicating the load in the first cell 11, and theestimated noise floor level.

Power measurements at the uplink receiver is associated withdifficulties since the transmission of the WCDMA uplink is notorthogonal, a fact that causes errors when the powers are estimated.Furthermore, individual code powers are often small, making signal tonoise ratios low as well. This fact contributes to the inaccuracy ofsaid power estimates. The major problem associated with the solutions oftoday is however that the sum of neighbour cell interference value andnoise floor level needs to be estimated by means of high order Kalmanfiltering. This step has a very high computational complexity. Thecomputational complexity is in some examples increased as the number ofuser equipments increase.

Another problem with a baseline RoT algorithm is that the front-endKalman filter processes data in the linear power domain. This means thatit is tuned for best operation at a signal level around −100 dBm. Evenin the past this has not always been the case, due to strong in-bandinterference e.g. from radar stations, and erroneous configuration andcell planning. The trend towards higher loads, more traffic, more userequipments together with HetNet network planning difficulties is boundto drive signal levels up in many networks. The conclusion is that thereis a strong need for a signal power level independent estimation of theRoT. Techniques that achieve this with a low complexity have beendeveloped. The power scaling applied by the new algorithm improves thetracking properties.

According to embodiments herein a new front end of the prior art RoTestimation algorithm is developed. The scope is to perform a jointestimation of the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t), the sum of theneighbour cell interference value and the noise floor levelP_(neighbor)(t)+P_(N)(t), the noise floor level P_(N)(t), the neighbourcell interference value P_(neighbor)(t) and the load utilizationprobability value p_(load)(t). As it turns out, Extended Kalman Filters(EKF) are suitable for this task. The EKFs also provides a signaltracking over a very wide dynamic range when provided with scaling.

In some examples an estimation algorithm uses the following information

-   -   Measurements of the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t), with        a sampling rate T_(RTWP) of T_(RTWP)=k_(RTWP)TTI, where integer        k represents a set of positive integers i.e. k_(RTWP)εZ+, and        TTI represents Time Transmission Interval.    -   Computed factors L_(own)(t), with a sampling rate T_(L) of        T_(L)=k_(L)TTI, k_(L)εZ+.    -   A delay T_(D), also called loop delay, between the calculation        of L_(own)(t), and a time it takes effect on the air interface.        The loop delay is dependent on the TTI.

The states are selected asx ₁(t)=p _(load)(t)  (eq. 14)x ₂(t)=P _(neighbor)(t)+P _(N)(t).  (eq. 15)

The signal that is available for processing in this model is thereceived total power value P_(RTWP)(t). The factor indication load ofthe own cell L_(own)(t) is a computed quantity, e.g. based on SINRmeasurements, for this reason a measurement model of the received totalpower value P_(RTWP)(t) is needed, expressed in terms of the states,computed quantities and a measurement uncertainty. Towards this end itis first noted that the load of eq 8 does not account for theutilization probability value p_(load)(t). Neither does it account forthe delay T_(D).

To model the utilization probability effect, a look at eq. 5 suggeststhat load under-utilization may be modeled by a modification of eq. 7and eq. 8 to

$\begin{matrix}{{L_{{own},{utilized}}(t)} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{I}\;{{p_{load}(t)}{L_{i}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}}} = {{p_{load}(t)}{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 16} \right) \\{\mspace{79mu}{{P_{RTWP}(t)} = {{{L_{{own},{utilized}}(t)}{P_{RTWP}(t)}} + {P_{neighbor}(t)} + {P_{N}(t)}}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 17} \right)\end{matrix}$

-   -   which results in

$\begin{matrix}{{P_{RTWP}(t)} = {\frac{1}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{p_{load}(t)}}}{\left( {{P_{neighbor}(t)} + {P_{N}(t)}} \right).}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 18} \right)\end{matrix}$

Thus, in some embodiments the computing of the utilization probabilityvalue of the load in the first cell 11 and the neighbour cellinterference value is based on

${P_{RTWP}(t)} = {\frac{1}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{p_{load}(t)}}}\left( {{P_{neighbor}(t)} + {P_{N}(t)}} \right)}$

-   -   where    -   t is a present time,    -   P_(RTWP)(t) is the received total power value,    -   T_(D) is a delay,    -   L_(own)(t−T_(D)) is the factor of the load in the first cell 11        at the present time reduced with the delay,    -   p_(load)(t) is the utilization probability value of the load in        the first cell 11,    -   P_(neighbor)(t) is the neighbour cell interference value at the        present time,    -   P_(N)(t) is the noise floor level,    -   from which a sum of the neighbour cell interference value at the        present time P_(neighbor)(t) and the noise floor level P_(N)(t)        is computed. Hence, the neighbour cell interference value at the        present time P_(neighbor)(t) and the noise floor level P_(N)(t)        is calculated/computed simultaneously.

After addition of a zero mean white measurement noise e_(RTWP)(t) andreplacement of variables by the states of eq. 14 and eq. 15, thefollowing non-linear interference model is defined

$\begin{matrix}{{y_{RTWP}(t)} = {\frac{x_{2}(t)}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{x_{1}(t)}}} + {e_{RTWP}(t)}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 19} \right) \\{{R_{2,{RTWP}}(t)} = {E{\left\lfloor {e_{RTWP}^{2}(t)} \right\rfloor.}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 20} \right)\end{matrix}$

Here y_(RTWP)(t)=P_(RTWP)(t) and R_(2,RTWP)(t) denotes the (scalar)covariance matrix of e_(RTWP)(t).

Note: The factor indicating load of the own cell is computed both usingboth EUL and R99 traffic, hence in this case the delay is valid forboth.

In order to set up an optimal filtering algorithm, it is necessary towrite down a model for propagation of the states, a so called dynamicstate model. Since the two involved quantities are both positivequantities, it follows that any dynamic model needs to have integratingmodes corresponding states, in order to allow dynamic variations arounda nonzero positive mean value. Herein disclosed embodiments solve thisby postulating the most simple such model, namely a random walk model.

The random walk model corresponding to the states of eq. 14 and eq. 15becomes

$\begin{matrix}{{{x\left( {t + T_{TTI}} \right)} \equiv \begin{pmatrix}{x_{1}\left( {t + T_{TTI}} \right)} \\{x_{2}\left( {t + T_{TTI}} \right)}\end{pmatrix}} = {{\begin{pmatrix}1 & 0 \\0 & 1\end{pmatrix}\begin{pmatrix}{x_{1}(t)} \\{x_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}} + \begin{pmatrix}{w_{1}(t)} \\{w_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 21} \right) \\{{R_{1}(t)} = {{E\left\lbrack {\begin{pmatrix}{w_{1}(t)} \\{w_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}\begin{pmatrix}{w_{1}(t)} & {w_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}} \right\rbrack}.}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 22} \right)\end{matrix}$

Here R₁(t) denotes a covariance matrix of a zero mean white disturbance(w₁(t) w₂(t))^(T).

A state space model behind the extended Kalman filter (EKF) isx(t+T)=A(t)x(t)+B(t)u(t)+w(t).  (eq. 23)y(t)=c(x(t))+e(t).  (eq. 24)

Here x(t) is a state vector, u(t) is an input vector that is not usedhere, y(t) is an output measurement vector consisting of the powermeasurements performed in the cell i.e. the total received widebandpower, w(t) is the so called systems noise that represent the modelerror, and e(t) denotes a measurement error. Matrix A(t) is a systemmatrix describing the dynamic modes, a matrix B(t) is the input gainmatrix, while the vector c(x(t)) is the, possibly non-linear,measurement vector which is a function of the states of the system.Finally t represents a present time and T represents the samplingperiod.

Hence, in some embodiments the non-linear interference model uses errorparameters and the non-linear interference model comprises at least astate space model whereinx(t+T)=A(t)x(t)+w(t)y _(RTWP)(t)=c(x(t))+e(t),

-   -   where    -   t represents the present time,    -   T represents a sampling period,    -   A(t) is a matrix describing dynamic modes,    -   x(t) is a state vector defined as

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}{x_{1}(t)} \\{x_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}$wherex ₁(t)=p _(load)(t) and x ₂(t)=P _(neighbor)(t)+P _(N)(t),

-   -   w(t) is an error parameter defining systems noise,    -   e(t) is an error parameter defining white measurement noise,    -   y_(RTWP)(t) is the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t) plus        the error parameter e(t), and    -   c(x(t)) is a measurement vector which is a function of the state        vector x(t) describing signals of the radio communications        network and equals the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t).

In some embodiments the matrix describing dynamic modes A(t) may beselected as an identity matrix of order 2. The error parameter definingthe systems noise (w(t)) may be selected to enable convergence of theutilization probability value to non-false estimates by selecting theerror parameter defining systems noise (w(t)) below a threshold value.In some embodiments the received total power value at the radio networknode 12 and the computed factor of the load in the first cell 11 areused as input in a scaled extended Kalman filter 34. The scaled extendedKalman filter 34 may output a sum of the neighbour cell interferencevalue and the noise floor level. The neighbour cell interference valuemay be computed by reducing the sum of the neighbour cell interferencevalue and the noise floor level with the estimated noise floor level.

The general case with a non-linear measurement vector is consideredhere. For this reason the extended Kalman filter 34 needs to be applied.This extended Kalman filter 34 may be given by the following matrix andvector iterations,

$\begin{matrix}{{Initialization}{t = t_{0}}{{\hat{x}\left( {0❘{- 1}} \right)} = x_{0}}{{P\left( {0❘{- 1}} \right)} = P_{0}}{Iteration}{t = {t + T}}{{C(t)} = {{\frac{\partial{c(x)}}{\partial x}❘_{x = {\hat{x}{({t❘{t - T}})}}}{K_{f}(t)}} = {{P\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)}{C^{T}(t)}\left( {{{C(t)}{P\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)}{C^{T}(t)}} + {R_{2}(t)}} \right)^{- 1}}}}{{\hat{x}\left( {t❘t} \right)} = {{\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} + {{K_{f}(t)}\left( {{y(t)} - {c\left( {\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} \right)}} \right)}}}{{P\left( {t❘t} \right)} = {{P\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} - {{K_{f}(t)}{C(t)}{P\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)}}}}{{\hat{x}\left( {{t + T}❘t} \right)} = {{A{\hat{x}\left( {t❘t} \right)}} + {{Bu}(t)}}}{{P\left( {{t + T}❘t} \right)} = {{{{AP}\left( {t❘t} \right)}A^{T}} + {R_{1}.{End}}}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 25} \right)\end{matrix}$

The quantities introduced by the filter iterations eq. 25 are asfollows. {circumflex over (x)}(t|t−T) denotes a state prediction, basedon data up to time t−T, {circumflex over (x)}(t|t) denotes a filterupdate, based on data up to time t, P(t|t−T) denotes a covariance matrixof the state prediction, based on data up to time t−T, and P(t|t)denotes a covariance matrix of the filter update, based on data up totime t. C(t) denotes a linearized measurement matrix linearizationaround a most current state prediction, K_(f)(t) denotes a time variableKalman gain matrix, R₂(t) denotes a measurement covariance matrix, andR₁(t) denotes a system noise covariance matrix. It should be noted thatR₁(t) and R₂(t) are often used as tuning variables of the extendedKalman filter 34. In principle the bandwidth of the filter is controlledby a matrix quotient of R₁(t) and R₂(t).

Quantities of the extended Kalman Filter 34 for estimation ofutilization probability is below defined. An initial value setting isdiscussed in the simulation section above in FIG. 3.

Using eq. 19-eq. 22 and eq. 25 it follows that

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{C(t)} = \left( {\frac{{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}{\left( {1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}} \right)^{2}}\frac{1}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}}} \right)} \\{= \begin{pmatrix}{C_{1}(t)} & {C_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}}\end{matrix} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 26} \right) \\{{R_{2}(t)} = {{R_{2,{RTWP}}(t)} = {E\left\lfloor {e_{RTWP}^{2}(t)} \right\rfloor}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 27} \right) \\{{c\left( {\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} \right)} = \frac{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}{1 = {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 28} \right) \\{A = \begin{pmatrix}1 & 0 \\0 & 1\end{pmatrix}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 29} \right) \\{B = 0} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 30} \right) \\{{R_{1}(t)} = {{E\left\lbrack {\begin{pmatrix}{w_{1}(t)} \\{w_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}\begin{pmatrix}{w_{1}(t)} & {w_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}} \right\rbrack}.}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 31} \right)\end{matrix}$

In order to write down the Extended Kalman Filter 34, denote the stateprediction and the state covariance prediction at time t by

$\begin{matrix}{{\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} = \begin{pmatrix}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} \\{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}\end{pmatrix}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 32} \right) \\{{P\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} = {\begin{pmatrix}{P_{11}\left( {t - T_{TTI}} \right)} & {P_{12}\left( {t - T_{TTI}} \right)} \\{P_{12}\left( {t - T_{TTI}} \right)} & {P_{22}\left( {t - T_{TTI}} \right)}\end{pmatrix}.}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 33} \right)\end{matrix}$

With these definitions the scalar equations of the extended Kalmanfilter iteration become, cf. eq. 25,

$\begin{matrix}{\mspace{79mu}{{Iteration}\mspace{79mu}{t = {t + T}}\mspace{79mu}{{c\left( {\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} \right)} = \frac{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}}}\mspace{79mu}{{C_{1}(t)} = \frac{{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}{\left( {1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}} \right)^{2}}}\mspace{79mu}{{C_{2}(t)} = \frac{1}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}}}{{K_{f,1}(t)}\frac{{{C_{1}(t)}{P_{11}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}} + {{C_{2}(t)}{P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}}{\begin{matrix}{{{C_{1}^{2}(t)}{P_{11}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}} + {2\;{C_{1}(t)}{C_{2}(t)}P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} +} \\{{C_{2}^{2}(t)}{P_{22}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}\end{matrix}}}{{K_{f,2}(t)}\frac{{{C_{1}(t)}{P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}} + {{C_{2}(t)}{P_{22}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}}{\begin{matrix}{{{C_{1}^{2}(t)}{P_{11}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}} + {2\;{C_{1}(t)}{C_{2}(t)}P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)} +} \\{{C_{2}^{2}(t)}{P_{22}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}\end{matrix}}}\mspace{79mu}{{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘t} \right)} = {{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} + {{K_{f,1}(t)}\left( {{y_{RTWP}(t)} - {c\left( {\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} \right)}} \right)}}}\mspace{79mu}{{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘t} \right)} = {{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} + {{K_{f,2}(t)}\left( {{y_{RTWP}(t)} - {c\left( {\hat{x}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} \right)}} \right)}}}{{P_{11}\left( {t❘t} \right)} = {{P_{11}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} - {K_{f,1}\left( {{C_{1}(t)}{P_{11}\left( {t❘{t - T_{\;_{TTI}}}} \right)}{+ C_{2}}(t){P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}} \right)}}}{{P_{12}\left( {t❘t} \right)} = {{P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} - {K_{f,1}\left( {{C_{1}(t)}{P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T_{\;_{TTI}}}} \right)}{+ C_{2}}(t){P_{22}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}} \right)}}}{{P_{22}\left( {t❘t} \right)} = {{P_{22}\left( {t❘{t - T}} \right)} - {K_{f,2}\left( {{{C_{1}(t)}{P_{12}\left( {t❘{t - T_{\;_{TTI}}}} \right)}} + {{C_{2}(t)}{P_{22}\left( {t❘{t - T_{TTI}}} \right)}}} \right)}}}\mspace{79mu}{{{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {{t + T_{TTI}}❘t} \right)} = {{\hat{x}}_{1}\left( {t❘t} \right)}}\mspace{79mu}{{{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {{t + T_{TTI}}❘t} \right)} = {{\hat{x}}_{2}\left( {t❘t} \right)}}\mspace{79mu}{{P_{11}\left( {{t + T_{TTI}}❘t} \right)} = {{P_{11}\left( {t❘t} \right)} + {R_{1,11}(t)}}}\mspace{79mu}{{P_{12}\left( {{t + T_{TTI}}❘t} \right)} = {{P_{12}\left( {t❘t} \right)} + {R_{1,12}(t)}}}\mspace{79mu}{{P_{22}\left( {{t + T_{TTI}}❘t} \right)} = {{P_{22}\left( {t❘t} \right)} + {R_{1,22}(t)}}}\mspace{79mu}{{End}.}}} & \left( {{eq}.\mspace{14mu} 34} \right)\end{matrix}$

It is stressed that the estimated variance of the sum of neighbour cellinterference and noise floor level is available in P₂₂(t|t). Togetherwith the estimate of a variance of the noise floor level, σ_(N) ²(t|t),standard considerations show that a variance of the neighbour cellinterference estimate σ_(neighbor) ²(t|t) may be estimated asσ_(neighbor) ²(t|t)=σ_(N) ²(t|t)+P ₂₂(t|t).  (eq. 35)

A problem is due to the fact that the Kalman filter is designed at aspecific operating point in the linear power domain. Now, with recenttraffic increases, this is no longer true. Embodiments herein introducesa power normalization based on the following results assuming that thefollowing assumptions A1)-A4) hold:

-   -   A1) Eigenvalues λ of A fulfill |λ|≦1, i.e. A is stable.    -   A2) Non-linear load coupling between power control loops are        neglected.    -   A3) e(t) is the measurement error and is a Gaussian zero mean        disturbance that fulfills E[e(t)e^(T)(s)]=δ_(t,s)R₂(t), where s        is a time instance and δ_(t,s) is the delta between t and s.    -   A4) w(t)=(w₁(t) w₂ ^(power)(t))^(T) is a Gaussian zero mean        disturbance that fulfills E[w(t)w^(T)(s)]=δ_(t,s)R(t).

Assume further that solutions {circumflex over (x)}(t|t−T), {circumflexover (x)}(t|t), P(t|t−T), P(t|t) are computed from eq. 25 for t>t₀ usinginitial values {circumflex over (x)}₀(t₀|t₀−T) and P₀(t₀|t₀−T). Then, ifeq. 25 is rerun from {circumflex over (x)}(t₀|t₀−T) and P₀(t₀|t₀−T)using a scaled covariance matrices R₁ ^(v)(t)=v²(t)R₁(t) and R₂^(v)(t)=v²(t)R₂(t), where v is a positive scale factor, the followingresults holds:{circumflex over (x)} ^(v)(t|t−T)={circumflex over (x)}(t|t−T), t>t ₀{circumflex over (x)} ^(v)(t−t)={circumflex over (x)}(t−t), t>t ₀P ^(v)(t|t−T)=v ²(t)P(t|t−T), t>t ₀P ^(v)(t|t)=v ²(t)P(t|t), t>t ₀

-   -   where the superscript ( )^(v) denotes a reiterated variable.

The achieved scaling of the covariances may be needed in order to makean estimated covariances scale with the average power level, therebyadapting to the logarithmic discretization of power in the noise floorlevel estimators.

It should be noted that simplified versions are also possible, whereonly a variance of a signal sent on for noise floor level estimation isscaled.

The result is valid when state covariance matrices are identicallyscaled. Hence, also the utilization probability value may be scaledusing this technology in the present algorithms.

Step 405. The radio network node 12 schedules radio resources in theradio communications network, based on at least one of the utilizationprobability value and the neighbour cell interference value. Forexample, if the neighbour cell interference value is very high, there isno need to reduce the load in the own cell. Also, if the utilizationprobability value is very low in the first cell lithe radio network node12 may take that into account when scheduling radio resources to userequipments within the first cell 11.

The radio network node, e.g. the radio base station 12, may take UL datatraffic into account when scheduling radio resources. A data block maybe sent by the first user equipment 10 to the first radio base station12 during a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). For efficiency reasons,the received data blocks at the receiver may be processed in parallel atM parallel processors taking turn to process data. While data block i isprocessed and decoding information is fed back to the transmitter, thereceiver starts processing data blocks i, i+1, . . . . By the time whenthe receiver processor has decoded the data block and fed back thedecoding result, it is ready for processing either a retransmission ofinformation related to the recently processed data or a new data block.By combining information both from the original data block and theretransmission, it is possible to correct errors in the reception. Aretransmission scheme with both error correction and error detection isreferred to hybrid Automatic Request (HARQ). Therefore, M processors areoften referred to as HARQ processes, each handling a data block receivedin a TTI. In the WCDMA uplink, there is a trade-off between coverage andenabled peak rates. This is even more emphasized with enhanced uplink,which supports higher bit rates than ordinary dedicated channels. Theuplink resources are limited by the rise over thermal (RoT) that thecell can tolerate. The RoT limit is either motivated by coveragerequirements or power control stability requirements. When only one userequipment is connected in the cell, both power control stability andcoverage are minor issues, since the uplink interference is likely to bedominated by the power generated by this user equipment. In such a caseit is tempting to allow a high RoT in order to allow high receivedsignal relative interference powers, transmit energy per chip to thetotal transmit power spectral density Ec/Io, which enables the use ofhigh uplink bit rates. Conversely, in order to use the high uplink bitrates, the connections to the first user equipment 10 may provide highEc/Io, which implies high RoT.

In order to orthogonalize the uplink user transmissions to a greaterextend, it may be relevant to separate the user data transmissions intime, and employ a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) scheme. It ispossible to allocate grants to a user equipment that is only valid forspecified HARQ processes. This fact can be exploited to enable TDM forEnhanced (E-)UL. Furthermore, it allows retransmissions withoutinterfering with other user equipments, since retransmissions hit thesame HARQ process as the original transmission. The relevance for theload estimation functionality disclosed in embodiments herein is thatthere may be a need to repeat the disclosed functionality, for each TDMinterval and HARQ process.

Step 406. The radio network node 12 may transmit at least one of theutilization probability value of the load in the first cell 11 andneighbour cell interference value to a controlling radio network node16, e.g. an RNC. This may alternatively by transmitted to a second radionetwork node such as the second radio base station 13. Furthermore, theestimated noise floor level may also be transmitted to the controllingradio network node 16 or to the second radio network node 13. In someembodiments at least one of the utilization probability value of theload in the first cell 11 and the neighbour cell interference value isencoded in a field of a message transmitted to the controlling radionetwork node 16. The controlling radio network node 16 may use theutilization probability value, the neighbour cell interference or both,when e.g. performing admission control to the first cell 11.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram depicting the radio network node 12 forenabling management of radio resources in a radio communicationsnetwork. The radio network node 12 is configured to serve the first cell11.

The radio network node 12 comprises a measuring circuit 501 configuredto measure a received total power value at the radio network node 12 inthe first cell 11.

The radio network node 12 further comprises a first computing circuit502 configured to compute a factor indicating a load in the first cell11.

The radio network node 12 additionally comprises an estimating circuit503 configured to estimate a noise floor level in the first cell 11. Insome embodiments the estimating circuit 503 is configured estimate thenoise floor level based on the measured received total power value andthe factor of the load in the first cell 11, a recursive algorithm, or asliding window algorithm.

Furthermore, the radio network node 12 comprises a second computingcircuit 504 configured to compute a utilization probability value of theload in the first cell 11 and a neighbour cell interference valuesimultaneously in a non-linear interference model. The second computingcircuit 504 is configured to base the computation on the measuredreceived total power value, the computed factor, and the estimated noisefloor level in the first cell 11. The neighbour cell interference valueis an interference from at least one second cell 14 affecting said firstcell 11, and where at least one of the utilization probability value ofthe load in the first cell 11 and the neighbour cell interference valueis to be used for managing radio resources in the radio communicationsnetwork. In some embodiments the second computing circuit 504 isconfigured to compute the utilization probability value of the load inthe first cell 11 and the neighbour cell interference value based on

${P_{RTWP}(t)} = {\frac{1}{1 - {{L_{own}\left( {t - T_{D}} \right)}{p_{load}(t)}}}\left( {{P_{neighbor}(t)} + {P_{N}(t)}} \right)}$

-   -   where    -   t is a present time,    -   P_(RTWP)(t) is the received total power value,    -   T_(D) is a delay,    -   L_(own)(t−T_(D)) is the factor of the load in the first cell 11        at the present time reduced with the delay,    -   p_(load)(t) is the utilization probability value of the load in        the first cell 11,    -   p_(neighbor)(t) is the neighbour cell interference value at the        present time,    -   P_(N)(t) is the noise floor level,    -   from which a sum of the neighbour cell interference value at the        present time P_(neighbor)(t) and the noise floor level P_(N)(t)        is computed.

The non-linear interference model may in some embodiments use errorparameters and the non-linear interference model comprises at least astate space model whereinx(t+T)=A(t)x(t)+w(t)y _(RTWP)(t)=c(x(t))+e(t),

-   -   where    -   t represents the present time,    -   T represents a sampling period,    -   A(t) is a matrix describing dynamic modes,    -   x(t) is a state vector defined as

$\quad\begin{pmatrix}{x_{1}(t)} \\{x_{2}(t)}\end{pmatrix}$

-   -    where        x ₁(t)=p _(load)(t) and x ₂(t)=P _(neighbor)(t)+P _(N)(t),    -   w(t) is an error parameter defining systems noise,    -   e(t) is an error parameter defining white measurement noise,    -   y_(RTWP)(t) is the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t) plus        the error parameter e(t), and    -   c(x(t)) is a measurement vector which is a function of the state        vector    -   x(t) describing signals of the radio communications network and        equals the received total power value P_(RTWP)(t).

The second computing circuit 504 may in some embodiments be configuredto select the matrix describing dynamic modes A(t) as an identity matrixof order 2.

Furthermore, the second computing circuit 504 may in some embodiments beconfigured to select the error parameter defining the systems noise(w(t)) to enable convergence of the utilization probability value tonon-false estimates by selecting the error parameter defining systemsnoise (w(t)) below a threshold value.

In some embodiments the radio network node comprises a scheduler 505configured to schedule radio resources in the first cell 11, based on atleast one of the utilization probability value of the load in the firstcell 11 and the neighbour cell interference value.

In some embodiments the radio network node 12 comprises a transmittingcircuit 506 configured to transmit at least one of the utilizationprobability value of the load in the first cell 11, and the neighbourcell interference value to a controlling radio network node 16 or to asecond radio network node 13. In some embodiments the transmittingcircuit 506 may be further configured to encode at least one of theutilization probability value of the load in the first cell 11 and theneighbour cell interference value in a field of a message to betransmitted to the controlling radio network node 16.

In some embodiments a scaled extended Kalman filter 34 arranged in theradio network node 12 is configured to use the received total powervalue at the radio network node 12 and the computed factor of the loadin the first cell 11 as input. The scaled extended Kalman filter 34 maybe configured to output a sum of the neighbour cell interference valueand the noise floor level. The second computing circuit 504 may beconfigured to compute the neighbour cell interference value by reducingthe sum of the neighbour cell interference value and the noise floorlevel with the estimated noise floor level.

The radio network node 12 may be represented by a radio base station, arelay station, or a beacon station.

The embodiments herein for enabling management of radio resources may beimplemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuit507 in the radio network node depicted in FIG. 5, together with computerprogram code for performing the functions and/or method steps of theembodiments herein. The program code mentioned above may also beprovided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of adata carrier carrying computer program code for performing embodimentsherein when being loaded into the radio network node 12. One suchcarrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible withother data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program codemay furthermore be provided as program code on a server and downloadedto the radio network node 12.

The radio network node 12 may further comprise a memory 508 that maycomprise one or more memory units and may be used to store for exampledata such as utilization probability values, neighbour cell interferencevalues, received total power values, factors indicating the load in thefirst cell 11, and estimated noise floor levels, scheduling parameters,applications to perform the methods herein when being executed on theradio network node 12 or similar.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart depicting embodiments herein of a methodin the controlling radio network node, exemplified above as the RNC 16and hereinafter referred to as the controlling radio network node 16,for managing radio resources in the radio communications network. Thecontrolling radio network node 16 controls a second cell 14.

Step 601. The controlling radio network node 16 receives, from a radionetwork node 12, at least one of a utilization probability value of aload in a first cell 11 served by the radio network node 12 and aneighbour cell interference value. The neighbour cell interference valueis an interference from at least the second cell 14 affecting the firstcell 11. The neighbour cell interference value and the utilizationprobability value are based on a measured received total power value, acomputed factor indicating the load in the first cell 11, and anestimated noise floor level in the first cell 11, computed in anon-linear interference model.

Step 602. The controlling radio network node 16 uses the at least one ofthe received utilization probability value of the load in the first cell11 and the received neighbour cell interference value, when managingradio resources within the radio communications network. In someembodiments at least the neighbour cell interference value is used whenperforming admission control to the first cell 11 and/or the second cell14 or when performing interference management in heterogeneous networks.For example, the performing interference management in heterogeneousnetworks may comprise to control at least one radio network node 12,13e.g. by transmitting information or orders based on the neighbour cellinterference value to the second radio network node 13.

Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) concerns effects associated withnetworks where different kinds of cells are mixed. A problem is thenthat these cells may have different radio properties in terms of e.g.

-   -   Radio sensitivity.    -   Frequency band.    -   Coverage.    -   Output power.    -   Capacity.    -   Acceptable load level.

This may be an effect of the use of different RBS sizes, e.g. macro,micro, pico, femto, different revision of different receiver technologyor software quality, different vendors and of the purpose of a specificdeployment.

One of the most important factor in HetNets is that of air interfaceload management, i.e. the issues associated with the scheduling of radioresources in different cells and the interaction between cells in termsof inter-cell interference. There is a need to optimize performance inHetNets.

To exemplify these problems, consider a low power cell with limitedcoverage intended to serve a hotspot. In order to get a sufficientcoverage of the hot spot an interference suppressing receiver like theG-rake+ is used. The problem is now that the low power cell may belocated in the interior of and at the boundary of a specific macro cell.Further, surrounding macro cells interfere with the low power cellrendering a high level of neighbour cell interference in the low powercell, that despite the advanced receiver reduces the coverage to levelsthat do not allow a coverage of the hot spot. As a result userequipments of the hot spot are connected to the surrounding macro cells,thereby further increasing the neighbour cell interference experiencedby the low power cell. Thus, it is advantageous when the controllingradio network node 16 or the surrounding RBSs is informed of theinterference situation and take action, using e.g. admission control inthe controlling radio network node 16 or a new functionality in thesurrounding RBSs to reduce neighbour cell interference and to provide abetter management of the hot spot traffic—in terms of air interfaceload. This is enabled in that the radio network node 12 estimates theneighbour cell interference in an accurate manner.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting a controlling radio network nodesuch as a radio network controller 16, for managing radio resources in aradio communications network. The controlling radio network node 16 isconfigured to control a second cell 14. The controller radio networknode 16 comprises a receiving circuit 701 configured to receive, from aradio network node 12, at least one of a utilization probability valueof a load in a first cell 11 served by the radio network node 12 and aneighbour cell interference value. The neighbour cell interference valueis an interference from at least the second cell 14 affecting the firstcell 11. The neighbour cell interference value and the utilizationprobability value are based on a measured received total power value, acomputed factor indicating the load in the first cell 11, and anestimated noise floor level in the first cell 11, computed in anon-linear interference model.

The controlling radio network node 16 comprises a processing circuit 702configured to use at least one of the utilization probability value ofthe load in the first cell 11 and the neighbour cell interference value,when managing radio resources within the radio communications network.The processing circuit 702 may in some embodiments be configured to useat least the neighbour cell interference value when performing admissioncontrol to the first cell 11 and/or the second cell 14; or when toperform interference management in heterogeneous networks. Theprocessing circuit 702 may in some embodiments be configured to performinterference management in heterogeneous networks by controlling atleast one radio network node 12,13 by transmitting information to the atleast one radio network node 12,13. For example, the controlling radionetwork node 16 may comprise a transmitting circuit 703 configured totransmit information to a second radio network node 13 that takes actionin response, e.g. modifying interference threshold values in the secondcell 14, thereby the controlling radio network node 16 managesinterference/radio resources in HetNets.

The embodiments herein for managing the radio resources may beimplemented through one or more processors 702 in the controlling radionetwork node 16 depicted in FIG. 7, together with computer program codefor performing the functions and/or method steps of the embodimentsherein. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as acomputer program product, for instance in the form of a data carriercarrying computer program code for performing embodiments herein whenbeing loaded into the controlling radio network node 16. One suchcarrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible withother data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program codemay furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server anddownloaded to the controlling radio network node 16.

The controlling radio network node may further comprise a memory 704that may comprise one or more memory units and may be used to store forexample data such as utilization probability values, neighbour cellinterference values, received total power values, factors indicating theload in the first cell 11, parameters relating to other cells, estimatednoise floor levels, scheduling parameters of different cells, load indifferent cells, interference parameters of different cells,applications to perform the methods herein when being executed on thecontrolling radio network node or similar.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed exemplaryembodiments. However, many variations and modifications can be made tothese embodiments. Accordingly, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the embodiments herein beingdefined by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method in a controlling radio networknode for managing radio resources in a radio communications network,wherein the controlling radio network node controls a second cell in theradio communications network and the method comprises: receiving, from aradio network node, at least one of a utilization probability value of aload in a first cell served by the radio network node and a neighbourcell interference value, which neighbour cell interference value is aninterference from at least the second cell affecting the first cell, andwhich neighbour cell interference value and the utilization probabilityvalue are based on a measured received total power value, a computedfactor indicating the load in the first cell, and an estimated noisefloor level in the first cell, computed in a non-linear interferencemodel; and using at least one of the utilization probability value ofthe load in the first cell and the neighbour cell interference value,when managing radio resources within the radio communications network.2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least the neighbour cellinterference value is used for performing admission control to at leastone of the first and second cells, or for performing interferencemanagement in a heterogeneous network configuration of the radiocommunications network.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein theperforming interference management comprises controlling at least oneradio network node by transmitting information to the at least one radionetwork node.
 4. A controlling radio network node for managing radioresources in a radio communications network, wherein the controllingradio network node is configured to control a second cell and comprises:a receiving circuit configured to receive, from a radio network node, atleast one of a utilization probability value of a load in a first cellserved by the radio network node and a neighbour cell interferencevalue, which neighbour cell interference value is an interference fromat least the second cell affecting the first cell, and which neighbourcell interference value and the utilization probability value are basedon a measured received total power value, a computed factor indicatingthe load in the first cell, and an estimated noise floor level in thefirst cell, computed in a non-linear interference model; and aprocessing circuit configured to use at least one of the utilizationprobability value of the load in the first cell and the neighbour cellinterference value, when managing radio resources within the radiocommunications network.
 5. The controlling radio network node accordingto claim 4, wherein the processing circuit is configured to use at leastthe neighbour cell interference value for performing admission controlto at least one of the first and second cells, or for performinginterference management in a heterogeneous network configuration of theradio communications network.
 6. The controlling radio network nodeaccording to claim 5, wherein the processing circuit is configured toperform interference management by controlling at least one radionetwork node by transmitting information to the at least one radionetwork node.